Chloe Zhang
With the rising popularity of crystals, it's important to know how to spot a fake. Fake crystals are often made of plastic, glass, resin, or acrylic and are created in labs to mimic real crystals. To spot a fake, you can test its hardness, weight, temperature, shape, and appearance. Real crystals are harder and can scratch glass, they feel heavier, are often colder to the touch, have a more natural shape, and are rarely flawless, usually containing small imperfections. Additionally, you can look out for air bubbles, an overly vibrant colour, and an unusually low price, as these can indicate a fake crystal.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Natural crystals are rarely perfect and often have small imperfections like internal fractures and inclusions. Fake crystals usually appear flawless and clear, lacking these natural imperfections. |
| Shape | Natural crystals form in specific geometric patterns based on their mineral composition. If the crystal has an unnaturally perfect shape or is overly polished, it might be fake. |
| Clarity | Natural stones may have internal cloudiness, cracks, or inclusions. Fake crystals are almost perfectly transparent without any natural flaws. |
| Heft and Weight | Genuine crystals typically feel heavier than they look. Fake crystals, especially those made from glass or plastic, tend to feel lighter than natural stones. |
| Temperature | Real crystals should feel cold to the touch and will not retain heat for long. Fake crystals often match the ambient room temperature or feel lukewarm. |
| Colour | Real crystals display a range of colour intensities and patterns rather than a uniform colour. Artificially enhanced colours that appear unnaturally bright or consistent can be a sign of a fake crystal. |
| Fluorescence | Some crystals exhibit fluorescence under ultraviolet light. Fake crystals won't glow under UV light. |
| Resonance | Real crystals produce a resonant sound when tapped gently, unlike fake crystals made of glass or plastic, which emit a duller sound. |
| Hardness | Natural crystals are generally harder than their fake counterparts and can be tested using the Mohs scale of hardness. |
| Air Bubbles | Real crystals do not have air bubbles, but fake glass crystals often do. |
| Price | Real crystals tend to be more expensive due to their rarity and authenticity. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. |
| Source | Genuine crystals have natural origins and are formed in the earth. Fake crystals are made in labs and mimic real crystals. |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic crystals are often lighter than real ones
Plastic crystals often feel lighter than real ones. This is because natural crystals contain metals and other inclusions from their formation in the earth that weigh them down. Fake crystals, on the other hand, are mostly made of glass.
To test the authenticity of a crystal, you can compare its weight to a similar specimen. If the crystal doesn't feel as heavy as it should, it may be a fake. However, this test doesn't work with all types of crystals. For example, amethyst, hematite, and fluorite are easy to fake with the same weight as their genuine counterparts.
Another test for crystal authenticity involves observing the crystal's reaction to heat. Real crystals are good conductors of heat and will melt ice faster than glass or plastic imitations. To perform this test, hold the crystal with tweezers or a similar tool and carefully expose it to a flame for a few seconds. Genuine crystals will withstand the heat without melting or altering their shape, while fakes, especially those made from plastic or resin, are likely to melt or deform.
It is important to note that the weight test may not be conclusive on its own, as some fake crystals are made of denser materials and may feel heavier than genuine crystals. Therefore, it is recommended to perform multiple tests to determine the authenticity of a crystal.
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They may also be overly vibrant in colour
When it comes to spotting fake plastic crystals, there are several key indicators to look out for. One tell-tale sign is if the crystal displays excessively vibrant colours. While genuine crystals can exhibit vibrant hues, artificial enhancements that appear unnaturally bright or consistent may indicate dyeing or synthetic origins. This process of dyeing is used to mimic the colour banding found in expensive real crystals. For example, a fake rose quartz might be a piece of coloured glass marketed as Rosey Quartz, or a rare strawberry quartz might be dyed to achieve an extra bright colour.
The presence of overly vibrant colours in a crystal can be a result of human enhancement techniques. Humans have long attempted to improve the appearance of crystals with dyes, fillings, and moulds. These artificially enhanced colours can make it difficult to spot the difference between real and fake crystals, as synthetic crystals often lack the complex geometric structures found in nature.
To identify whether a crystal's colour is naturally occurring or artificially enhanced, it is important to familiarise yourself with the unique colour patterns of authentic crystals. Real crystals typically display a range of colour intensities and patterns rather than a uniform colour. For example, genuine amethyst exhibits vivid colour zoning, with areas of lilac, purple, lavender, white, yellow, or clear. On the other hand, Clear Quartz and Optical Calcite have nearly zero zoning or colour variations.
If you suspect that a crystal's colour has been artificially enhanced, you can perform additional tests to confirm its authenticity. One such test is the scratch test, which involves gently scratching a piece of known glass with the crystal to assess its hardness. Real crystals are generally harder than glass and should be able to scratch it without sustaining damage. Another test involves observing the crystal's reaction to heat. Hold the crystal with tweezers or tongs and carefully expose it to a flame for a few seconds. Fake crystals, especially those made from plastic, are likely to melt or deform when exposed to heat, whereas genuine crystals will withstand the heat without altering their shape.
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Natural crystals have flaws and imperfections
Crystals are formed by the progressive addition of atoms onto a surface. However, this process is not always perfect, and mistakes are made during the stacking of new planes with previously formed planes. These are called planar defects and can have a profound effect on the way atoms are stacked, producing distinct regions called domains within a single crystal.
There are several types of defects that can occur in crystals. Point defects involve missing or displaced atoms in the crystal structure, leaving empty sites or vacancies. Line defects are restricted to a row of lattice points, and plane defects involve an entire plane of lattice points in a crystal. Vacancy defects are lattice sites that would typically be occupied but are vacant. Substitutional defects occur when an atom is incorporated at a regular atomic site in the crystal structure, where it is not supposed to be, acting as an impurity.
Dislocations are linear defects where the atoms of the crystal lattice are misaligned. Edge dislocations are caused by the termination of a plane of atoms in the middle of a crystal, resulting in adjacent planes that are not straight. Screw dislocations are more complex, involving a helical path traced around the linear defect by the atomic planes of atoms in the crystal lattice.
These flaws and imperfections in natural crystals can be identified through various tests, such as examining their shape, clarity, hardness, fluorescence, and colour zoning.
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Fake crystals may react to heat
Real crystals should feel cold to the touch and will only retain heat for a short time after being held. Fake crystals, on the other hand, often match the ambient room temperature or feel lukewarm, warming up quickly and retaining heat for several minutes.
Fake crystals made of plastic and dyes may burn when exposed to a flame, but this test should be performed with caution to avoid injury. Fake crystals made from glass, resin, or plastic tend to be lighter than natural stones, but this test does not work for all types of crystals. For example, amethyst, hematite, and fluorite can be faked with the same weight as their genuine counterparts.
Additionally, the hardness of a crystal can be tested using the Mohs scale. Genuine crystals tend to be harder than their fake counterparts and can scratch glass. Softer crystals or imitations will not be able to scratch glass and may be scratched by harder materials. However, this test may cause long-lasting scratches, so it should be performed with caution.
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Unusual price or seller are red flags
Unusual pricing or sellers can be a red flag when it comes to fake plastic crystals. Firstly, real crystals tend to be more expensive than their synthetic or simulant counterparts due to their rarity. Therefore, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. For example, a large chunk of genuine moldavite can cost thousands of dollars, so a suspiciously good deal may indicate a fake crystal.
Additionally, it is important to be cautious of online sellers, especially if they have assigned a low price tag to their stones. Some red flags to watch out for include vague or absent details, such as a lack of transparency about their operations or vague claims of "ethical sourcing" without providing specific information. It is also important to research the seller by checking their reviews, business credentials, and transparency.
Furthermore, be wary of mass-produced items, as they can be an indication of fake or low-quality crystals. When it comes to the seller, it is a red flag if they are evasive or unsure about where their crystals were mined. It is also suspicious if a vendor is selling treated stones, such as heat-treated citrine, without any disclosures.
Lastly, some sellers may use misleading names for their crystals, assuming that buyers do not have enough knowledge to realize that certain names should only be used for rare stones. For example, certain types of jasper only come from Madagascar, so it is a red flag if a seller claims they originate elsewhere.
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